The In Between Days

Blueberry Buckle

Our little people headed home a couple of days ago. Right now our house is quiet and the floors are toy-free. (Did I tell you about the single black Lego on our dark rug that I "found" early one morning?) In this house with no grandchildren, we can finish a cup of coffee while it's hot. We can read the newspaper and watch the morning news shows (which is all pretty depressing) and eat a meal without hopping up a dozen times. But we are missing the early morning snuggles and the bedtime stories and all the hugs in between.

I miss getting fashion advice from the two-year-old, who told me I needed higher heels when I dressed for church on Sunday. I miss hearing Little Sister telling Daddy-O, "Sometimes we make bad decisions, but people love us anyway" after he did something that she is not allowed to do. So hard not to laugh!

While this house is empty for a few days, I'm making plans for "Camp Mimi" next week. Only one little one this time. Little Sister is coming to spend a week at the farm, by herself, to enjoy activities planned just for her. I have a bit of a plan, but we will have it all figured out by the time "camp" begins. 

So in these days between visits, I'm catching up on regular things here, like laundry, cleaning, reading (something beside Berenstain Bears) and knitting. Just started a new shawl from Curious Handmade. Right now it's at the "doesn't look like much" stage. But I've seen photos of other knitters' finished shawls and they are lovely. Right now the temps are staying around 100 degrees here. No need for any kind of wrap or shawl. But cooler temperatures will come back. I'll be ready. For much of our winter, a shawl will be all the outerwear I'll need.

We are finishing up leftovers from our kid-friendly meals. Maybe the best of the leftovers is the Blueberry Buckle I baked with the very last of the blueberries we picked. This is an old recipe from an old cookbook. My mother gave me a brand new Better Homes & Gardens cookbook when I graduated from college. It is still my go-to cookbook, even though the pages are now yellowed. I have notes jotted all through the book. The penciled-in words beside the Blueberry Buckle recipe say "very good!" Indeed.

You can find the self-rising flour version of this recipe here. It's good either way you do it.

BLUEBERRY BUCKLE

1/2 cup shortening (I used half shortening/half butter this time)

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

2 cups all-purpose flour

2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

2 cups fresh blueberries

topping:

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Thoroughly cream shortening and 3/4 cup sugar; add egg and beat until light and fluffy. Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together to blend. Add flour to creamed mixture, alternately with milk. Spread batter in greased 11x7x 1-/1/2 inch pan. Top with berries. Mix 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter until crumbly; sprinkle over berries. Bake 45 minutes. Cut into squares. Serve warm.

School for Big Sister (10th grade) and Little Sister (5K) begins on August 4. After that, there won't be very many visits to the farm. And then I'll go back and look over this blog and remember how much grandparent fun we've had this summer.